RAPID: Learning from the Development of an On-Line CS Degree

Oregon State University, Corvallis OR

Investigators

Abstract

The U.S. Bureau of Labor and Statistics projects that 3 out of every 4 new jobs in science and engineering will be in computing fields through 2018. This corresponds to nearly 1,000,000 jobs in computing over the 2008-2018 time span. Meanwhile, the number of computer science and engineering graduates nationally is approximately 15,000 each year - falling well short of the future job needs. One solution to bridging this gap is to focus on creating opportunities for the underemployed and unemployed graduates to align their skills to opportunities that exist in computing. Oregon State University recently announced a new program to do exactly that. They are launching a new on-line post baccalaureate degree in Computer Science where students can earn a second Bachelor of Science degree in as short as one year without relocating. The process of developing this degree program has already presented many new challenges. These topics and others are common to programs as they move to more remote delivery formats. The team intends to capture its journey developing this program. The team will capture the steps taken, what worked and what did not. As on-line education is taking off nationally and becoming more mainstream, capturing lessons learned from one program can help inform others as they move into this new paradigm of education.